Sights in Magdeburg
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Dom
This grand cathedral is Magdeburg's main historical landmark and traces its roots to 937 when Otto I (912-73) founded a Benedictine monastery and had it built up into a full-fledged cathedral within two decades. Alas, fire destroyed the original a couple of centuries later. But by then the Gothic style was all the rage, which is why its successor is a three-aisled basilica with transept, choir and pointed windows. The burial place of Otto I and his English wife Editha, it's packed with artistic highlights ranging from the delicate 13th-century Magdeburg Virgins sculptures to a haunting antiwar memorial by Ernst Barlach. The church also has impressive eco-credentials: in 1…
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Grüne Zitadelle
It's piglet pink and resembles an iced birthday cake accidentally stuck in the oven for a few minutes. It has towers, turrets, golden spheres, trees growing from its facade and meadows sprouting on its rooftops. Right across from the cathedral, the Grüne Zitadelle is Magdeburg's newest, brightest and most inspired landmark. Completed in 2005, it was the final design of Viennese artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser and perfectly reflects his philosophy of creating highly unique spaces in harmony with nature, an 'oasis for humanity', as the master himself put it. Inside are offices, flats and shops, as well as a small hotel and a cafe. If you understand German, join the one-…
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Magdeburg Cathedral
Magdeburg was established as a trading post by Charlemagne in 805, but the city was made great by King Otto I, whose tomb is found in its weather-beaten Gothic Magdeburg Cathedral. Apparently the first of its kind on German soil when it was erected between 1209 and 1363, the twin-towered Dom features an impressive high-ceilinged interior and art spanning eight centuries.
Highlights include a pensive WWI memorial by Ernst Barlach and, through the doors beside it - push hard, the latch jams - the sculpture of the Magdeburger Virgins (dating from the 13th century and undergoing renovation).
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C
Jahrtausendturm
The conical Jahrtausendturm at the Elbauenpark is an unusual attraction. It soars 60m high and bills itself as the world's tallest wooden tower. It's fun to walk up its external spiral walkway and it looks wonderful when lit up at night. German-speakers will also be attracted by the fun, hands-on experiments and physics exhibits within.
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D
Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen
Magdeburg's oldest building, a decommissioned medieval monastery, is now the Kunstmuseum Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen and presents regional sculptures and contemporary art from Saxony-Anhalt. The front door, designed by popular local artist Heinrich Apel (b 1935), is fun: you knock with the woman's necklace and push down on the man's hat to enter.
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E
Elbauenpark
One of Magdeburg's finest green patches, the Elbauenpark has rose, sculpture and other gardens, plus a butterfly house.
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